Popularity for small boats and related sports has increased in recent years. New innovations in boat materials and hull designs have made sports such as kayaking and canoeing more accessible to a wide range of enthusiasts from the novice to the experienced outdoorsmen. Small boats are now commonly used for recreation in rivers, lakes, and oceans.
As more people become involved in small boating sports, there has been an increased demand for boat transport devices. Boats are often too big to fit inside a vehicle. Trailers may be cumbersome or unusable on some automobiles, particularly if a sportsman wishes to transport the boat over rough terrain. Therefore, vehicle roof racks have become the frequently preferred transport device for carrying small boats.
Accessories for conventional vehicle racks are available for transporting boats. For example, an accessory may use a cradle type berth to support a boat hull. However, a problem with cradle type racks is that they may be unsatisfactory for some hull shapes. Boat hulls come in different shapes. FIG. 1 shows examples of different boat hull profiles. Some hulls are wider, while others are narrower. Some are rounded while others have one or more distinct angles. These differences in hull shape create difficulties with a one design fits all boat accessory. Prior boat racks typically work well for one boat design and not so well for other designs because they do not provide adequate capacity to adjust and conform to different hull profiles.
If the hull does not adequately fit the cradle due to hull shape or inclination of the hull sides, the craft may roll back and forth on the hull as it is transported. This can put undue strain on the hull. An unsatisfactory solution has been to place towels or other types of padding between the rack and the boat hull, to prevent the boat from slipping and also providing extra support along the hull. However, suitable padding material may not be available or may not adequately support the boat.
An objective of the invention is to provide a boat rack design that is adaptable to different boat hull shapes, while also being simple to manufacture, rugged and substantially weatherproof.